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Nintendo Land gallery

What parents need to know

Positive messages

This game encourages kids to play with family and friends, engaging in positive competitive and cooperative gaming experiences that create memorable social experiences. A rhythm game may help grow kids' interest in music and dance.

Positive role models

There are several secondary characters in the game, but the primary ones are the players' avatars. Kids are likely to cue off their friends' behavior while playing, working together with or ganging up on other players, depending on what others are doing.

Ease of play

Most of the games are pretty basic, and pre-game interactive tutorials explain controls in quick, simple terms. That said, none of the activities are easily mastered. Plus, it will take some players a while to get used to switching their attention between GamePad and TV screen as required. What's more, a couple of games -- like the Metroid spin-off -- involve more complex controls that give veteran gamers an advantage over rookies.

Violence & scariness

A Metroid-themed game sees player avatars dressed as sci-fi warriors and shooting each other with lasers. Characters disappear in a flash of light when struck. An activity modeled after The Legend of Zelda games has players shooting arrows and swinging swords at fantasy creatures with pig-like heads. The game based on Luigi's Mansion involves avoiding a ghost in the dark and can be a bit intense. There's also a game that has kids flicking throwing stars with the touch screen, but targets are limited to wooden ninja cutouts.

If your Wii U is connected to the Internet the game will sync with Miiverse, Nintendo's online community. Random Miis created by other players from around the world may visit your park, but you cannot communicate with their makers.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Nintendo Land is a collection of mini-games designed to acquaint players new to the Nintendo Wii U with the system's innovative play possibilities. Most of these activities are very family friendly and promote a spirit of teamwork and healthy competition among players. Some include a bit of mild cartoonish violence, but there is no implication that characters struck by the lasers or swords players wield in these activities are seriously injured. Parents should keep in mind that while this game connects to Nintendo's online Miiverse community when the Wii U is connected to the Internet, it does not facilitate communication between players. Also note that multiplayer functionality requires between one and four Nintendo Wii U Remote Plus controllers (old Wii controllers with the Plus attachment work, too), which don't come with the Wii U system.

What kids can learn

Subjects

Arts

dance

music

Hobbies

collecting

Skills

Thinking & Reasoning

strategy

solving puzzles

Communication

friendship building

Collaboration

cooperation

group projects

meeting challenges together

teamwork

Engagement, Approach, Support

Engagement

Most games are very easy to learn and enjoy. They'll be all the more engaging if played in groups.

Learning Approach

Depending on the activity and number of players involved, kids may need to cooperate, compete, observe, react, and communicate.

Support

Ample instructions a provided within the game for each activity, and kids playing in groups will naturally consult one another for strategies and help.

What kids can learn

Subjects

Arts

dance

music

Hobbies

collecting

Skills

Thinking & Reasoning

strategy

solving puzzles

Communication

friendship building

Collaboration

cooperation

group projects

meeting challenges together

teamwork

Kids can learn about cooperation and teamwork in this highly social game that lets up to five players play together in the same room. Some activities encourage kids to speak with one another, communicating vital information while formulating strategies with their friends. Others are more competitive, and have kids working toward similar goals but competing for coins or points. There's also a rhythm-based, single-player virtual dancing game that will get kids feeling a beat and could help spur an interest in music and movement. Nintendo Land creates an engaging environment in which to try cooperative gaming strategies.

User reviews

Parents say

Kids say

What's it about?

NINTENDO LAND is a collection of 12 theme park mini-games meant to help acquaint new Wii U owners with Nintendo's console. Each activity is designed to show players different ways they can interact with their games. For example, kids will need to work with different images presented on their TV and the Wii U GamePad as they draw paths for Yoshi to follow and collect fruit in Yoshi's Fruit Cart. They'll flip the GamePad on its side and tilt it left and right to steer a racing machine in Captain Falcon's Twister Race. And they'll swipe the screen to throw shuriken and create balloon-pushing breezes in Takamaru's Ninja Castle and Balloon Trip Breeze, respectively. Other games introduce players to the notion of asymmetric play; the idea that multiple players can play the same game in very different ways. Mario Chase, for example, has one player looking at the GamePad screen, searching for and chasing others who are viewing the action presented from a different angle on their TV screens. The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest shows how one member of a team can use the GamePad's motion sensors to target enemies with a bow while others can use Wii remotes to fight with swords. As players work through these games -- individually or in multi-game tournaments accessed via the Nintendo Land train -- they'll earn coins that they can spend in a Peggle-style game that outputs prizes used to decorate the park.

Is it any good?

QUALITY

Nintendo Land serves the same purpose as the original Wii's Wii Sports, introducing players to the sort of experiences enabled by the system's innovative touch-screen-equipped Wii U GamePad. The concept of players having very different play experiences with the same game is unusual and perhaps in need of some hands-on examples, which is exactly what this game provides.

What's more, the games are surprisingly fun and often quite challenging. No one is likely to zoom through any of the single-player games in their first, second, or even third go. And loads of unlockable extras give players good reason to keep playing and perfecting their skills. It's not the sort of game that will satisfy a traditional gamer looking for deep, lengthy experiences, but it is the kind of game that will repeatedly be brought out to show friends how the system works while delivering some all-ages fun and no shortage of laughs for the family that owns it.

Families can talk about...

Families can talk about teamwork. Do you prefer playing alone against your friends, or do you like working as a team and communicating with your friends to create strategies?

Families can also discuss consumerism. How do you feel when you see the Nintendo logo or pictures of characters that appear in its games? Do you think a company might use this feeling to try to get you to buy more of its products? How do you decide which ones are worth your money and which ones aren't?

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When you use our links to make a purchase, Common Sense Media earns a small affiliate fee from Amazon or iTunes. As a nonprofit organization, these funds help us continue providing independent, ad-free services for educators, families, and kids while the price you pay remains the same. Thank you for your support.Read more

Amuse Mii Too

I have no problem with this game at all! However I will break this review down by each mini-game and then Overall Value. I'll Start with the Legend of Zelda Battle Quest. Battle Quest is all about working together. One to three people play one the TV as Swords men While one person plays on the Wii U Gamepad as an archer. Sure, You can play Battle Quest by yourself, but it gets hard, fast. The violence level is mediocre. You Fight spiders, oxen (Weird take on Boblokins for all the Zelda fans out there),Chu chus and more with 1:1 sword play and archery. Pikmin Adventure could possibly be my favorite attraction in Nintendo Land. The goal is to lead Captain Olimar off of a mysterious planet with an evil villain named Dark Monita (Monita is the guide of Nintendo Land). You and your friends work together to get off of the planet. Apparently there is a brown substance which represents animal droppings in Pikmin adventure; However, I have not seen this substance yet. Metroid Blast is also one of my favorite attractions. Metroid blast is about having adventures with your friends. you shoot monsters like Zoomers and Zebesians with Samus' trademark arm-cannon and Gunship. You can also play this game with your friends in a multiplayer Shootout. Mario Chase is a simple game that is a lot like tag. Mario runs away and Toads and Yoshis try to catch him. Not violent at all. Luigi's Ghost Mansion is game of running away from an invisible ghost. It is fun to play with friends and family. Animal Crossing Sweet Day is exactly like Mario Chase except for the fact that you have to collect items while running from the cop of an Animal Crossing town. There are six Single player attractions. However, I will only cover three: Donkey Kong Crash Course, Captain Falcon's Twister Race and Takamaru's Ninja Castle. Octopus Dance is lame, as is Balloon Trip Breeze and they are both Ok for kids. Yoshi's Fruit Cart is Great and is Ok for all kids. Donkey Kong Crash Course is Highly Addictive and very simple but fun. You tilt the Gamepad through an obstacle course designed like the classic Arcade game Donkey Kong. when you crash, a mini explosion happen and then you are placed back at your last checkpoint. Captain Falcon's Twister race is a racing game based off of F-Zero. The game is very frustrating however fun. You tilt the gamepad around a racing course in attempt to set the fastest time. It is fun and great in presentation. Takamaru's Ninja castle is a sort of shooter in which you slide your finger across the Gamepad touch screen to throw Shirukins, clay bombs and even slice with a sword. You fight ninja Enemies. Likewise with Battle Quest, this game's violence is very Cartoonish. Many of the big Nintendo names show up in Nintendo Land like Mario, Zelda, Pikmin, Metroid and Animal Crossing. Nintendo Land almost feels like an advertisement for those games. Nintendo Land Relays the message that it is better to play video games with friends, as some of the attractions are only for two players. Value: if you got a Wii U Deluxe Set, you got this game and more accessories with the Wii U, plus more memory for $20 less, than if you got a basic set with this game. In the end Nintendo Land is a great game, but I don't know if it is fully worthwhile for Basic set owners. You might as well get New Super Mario Bros. U instead of Nintendo Land. Nintendo Land is great and deserves an 8/10 rating, but the value for Wii U Basic set owners is not very good.

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